Black Christmas
by Insomni-Act
Summary: What happens when we hurt one of our loved ones so bad and tragedy strikes soon after? How can we take those horrible last words that we said back. How can we even forgive ourselves without any clear way to apologize? Why didn't we see what a good thing we had all along? Is it in that moment that we realize what a heartless and inconsiderate monster we were?


It was a snowy white Christmas. Snow drifted all throughout Spoonerville while a twenty-five year old Max stood in a cemetery wearing a trench coat; his ears blowing in the wind. Snow flakes lightly fell all around him as he looked down and concentrated on the grave before him. His eyes seemed to be lifeless.

"Hey… It's me... your son- no I don't even deserve to call myself that." Max clenched his fists and gritted his teeth, trying to hold back tears. "Just thinking about the pain I've brought you… truly disgusts me. You wanted nothing more than to love and take care of me… And all I did was think about what it would be like to have a _cooler_ dad. I was stupid not to realize it, but you were the GREATEST dad… and that's the coolest thing a Dad can be…

* * *

 _Max, who just turned twenty-five; sat at a table in Goofy's kitchen with his girlfriend Roxanne, who looked at him slightly amused. Max wore a very annoyed expression on his face. On top of his head was a kid-like party hat and in front of him sat a birthday cake with bright blue colors for the icing. The cake read:_ _ **Wish you a Bear-y Happy Birthday Maxie :).**_ _The cake was decorated with balloon and teddy bear designs. Goofy walked up behind Max and placed his hands on Max's shoulders._

" _Well, whaddaya think Maxie?" Goofy asked with a big smile. Max was increasingly becoming annoyed._

" _Uh… Dad? When you said you were throwing me a birthday dinner, I assumed that it would be something a little more, oh I don't know, AGE APPROPRIATE!" Max emphasized._

" _Gawrsh Maxie, you always use to love the Blue-Bear-y cake. I can still remember when you named it…" replied Goofy, starting to look a little down._

" _I'm not five anymore Dad! It's been thirteen years and you still haven't stopped treating me like a little kid." Max slammed both his fists on the table. "Stop living in the past!"_

" _Max…" Roxanne uttered while looking at him._

" _Sorry son. Just wanted you to enjoy your birthday… That's all…" Goofy replied dejected._

 _Are you kidding me?! How the heck am I supposed to enjoy a five year-old themed party?" Max retorted. "It's like the older I get, the more you treat me like a kid. It's almost like you just LIVE to embarrass me every chance you get!" Max's statement caused Goofy's eyes to drop towards the floor._

" _It's just hard watchin' you grow up Max…" Goofy replied. "I even gotcha a gift." Goofy slowly walked out of the kitchen and returned with a baby-blue box with a navy-blue ribbon tied around it. "Happy birthday Maxie." Goofy held a forced smile, holding the present out to Max. Max casually took the present and began to unwrap it. After unwrapping it he opened the lid of the box and reached in and pulled out a brown stitched up teddy bear. Max was speechless. "Press down on the stomach." Goofy said. Max's fury began to build._

" _Is this some kind of joke to you?! Do you listen to me at all or are you already senile?!" Max snapped. He gripped the stuffed bear and ripped an arm and leg off of it before throwing it against the wall. Goofy and Roxanne gasped. Max sat there angry, breathing heavily. "Let's go Rox." He said as he stood up from his chair. He snatched the party hat from his head and crumpled it in one hand before slamming it into the cake. "Thanks for nothing. Don't bother inviting us next time. I'll just have my own celebration." Max said coldly. Roxanne wanted to say something to him. The way that he was acting came as a surprise to even her, but she felt like it was not her place to speak on this. Max stormed out of the kitchen and Roxanne slowly stood up from her seat. She slowly approached an emotionless Goofy, who was slumped down in one of the chairs._

" _Thanks for inviting us… I'm sorry for the way Max is behaving… I know it's no excuse but he's been going through a lot of stress lately... especially with his job… I'll talk to him later." Said Roxanne. She hugged Goofy tightly and proceeded to make her way out._

 _Goofy just sat there, replaying the events that just took place over and over again in his head. He glanced over to the legless and armless stuffed bear. Finding the strength to stand, he walked over to it. After falling to his knees he picked the bear up. He pressed down on the stomach and a recorded message using Goofy's voice started to play and skip in a loop._

" _Max- *skips* Max- *skips* Max- *skips* Max." Goofy held the bear close to his heart as a tear slipped down his cheek._

* * *

"I acted like a complete jerk then… Just an ungrateful moody brat. I didn't deserve anything you did for me. Most kids don't even have dads who are around or even there for them. I didn't realize how good I had it… having a dad who always wanted to see his son smile… I was so lucky. I didn't contact you for months after that day, but I slowly got over it. When you didn't contact me for thanksgiving, I figured you were still upset with me, and you had every right to be… I tried to call you. I had big news to tell you, but there was no answer, so instead I left a message telling you to call me… Me and Rox ended up having thanksgiving with her family. The end of the day was approaching and I thought it was weird that you still hadn't returned my calls. I knew you weren't one to hold a grudge… When Christmas started to come close and I still hadn't heard from you, I knew that I had to make things right.. "

* * *

 _Max sped down the road, completely ignoring all speed limits he passed. (It's not like dad to just ignore my calls like this…) Max thought to himself. (Did I… go too far last time? I wouldn't blame him if he hated me, or never wanted to see me again.) He arrived in his old neighborhood and pulled up to Goofy's driveway. As he hopped out of the car, he noticed that even though the grass within the yard had died; it still looked as though the grass hadn't been mowed in months. (Dad never lets the yard get this out of hand. What's going on?) He pondered. He approached the front door and knocked. "Dad?! It's me... Max. Are you there?" No answer or movement was heard but Max continued to knock. After moments of silence again, Max reached for the doorknob and gave it a twist. To his surprise, the door opened. Max wondered why the door was unlocked. He stuck his head through the opening and peered around. The room was slightly dark but the daylight shining through the window provided some light. The space appeared to be neat and tidy. Max walked in and over to a nearby light switch and tried to turn it on. The light would not power on. (The power's out?) The young goof thought to himself. "Dad, are you in here?" He called out once more. He walked towards the kitchen and began to hear a faint familiar voice._

" _Max."_

" _Dad?" Max answered excitedly with relief. He quickly ran into the kitchen._

" _Max- *skips* Max- *skips* Max."_

 _The excitement in Max's eyes died as he looked to the floor to find the source of the voice. It was Goofy's, but it only came from a pre-recording inside of a stuffed bear._

" _Max- *skips* Max- *skips* Max- *skips* Max- *skips* Max."_

 _Dissappointed, he reached down and picked up the bear. He looked on the back and turned the switch for the recording off. He noticed the missing arm and leg and recognized it all too well. Looking around the kitchen, he noticed something even more familiar and strange. Atop the dining table sat an extremely moldy cake with a crumpled paper party hat mashed into it. Right next to the moldy cake was ripped baby-blue wrapping paper and an opened box. The scene of the room was almost exactly the same as when he had left months ago and this placed an uneasy feeling in his stomach. His cell phone began to ring. He reached into his pocket and pulled it out. The caller ID read an unknown number. Max hesitated before answering._

" _Hello?"_

" _Hi," An unfamiliar female voice spoke. "my name is Gentry Campbell. I'm calling from the Spoonerville central hospital. Are you a relative of a Mr. Goofy Goof?"_

" _Yeah… I am."_

" _I've been trying to get in touch with any relatives of Mr. Goof. I do deeply apologize for the lateness of this information, but Mr. Goof passed away a few months ago." Max's eyes grew wide and his mouth dropped open. "I truly hope that this isn't the first you've heard of this news. It was said that Mr. Goof died within his home here in Spoonerville. His body was discovered by an electric company representative who came to notify Mr. Goof that his electric bill was overdue. Doctors have concluded that he had been dead for months, but they could not determine the cause of death. They were able to rule out suicide and murder, as there was no sign of ingested poison or bodily harm… Hello? Are you there?" Max dropped the phone to the floor as he just stared off into space, mouth still agape. "Hello? Hello?" The woman over the phone continued to call out. Assuming that the call had gotten disconnected, she hung up._

 _The events of what transpired months ago began to play repeatedly in Max's head._

 _ **Is this some kind of joke to you?! Do you listen to me at all or are you already senile?!**_

 _Max's head began to sink low._

 _ **Thanks for nothing. Don't bother inviting us next time. I'll just have my own celebration… celebration… celebration…**_

 _Those last words echoed in his mind. The last words that he said to his dad._

 _Max stood in the kitchen for what seemed like hours. He turned his attention to the bear once more, staring at it blankly. He flipped the switch on again and pressed down on the stomach. The recording began to play._

" _Max, I know you're gettin' older, but I just want ya to know that no matter how old you get; you'll always be ma' boy… and I'll always love you… Happy birthday Max, from your dear old dad."_

 _Max's hands began to shake as he held the bear in his hands. He dropped to his knees and began to sob, his tears lightly falling on the stuffed bear's fur. "Dad… I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…"_

* * *

"I was torn apart yesterday after hearing the news. Not just dealing with the fact that you died, but with the fact that you died thinking I hated you… That you died with a broken heart… I can never say i'm sorry… I wished more than anything that I could change history… That I could take back what I said… That I could have you back. I wished upon the stars… I prayed… and as crazy as it sounds, I even researched ways to travel back in time all throughout the night. There was nothing I could do… I was so angry at myself. You never deserved what I put you through… I felt like I even had no right to visit your grave. I still do… You would jump through hoops just to make me happy. Literally. I still remember our road trip. The same trip that led us to meet Powerline. The same trip that helped us bond. I was even the same brat back then too. Only thinking of myself and what I wanted… I can still remember that one Christmas long ago; ya know, when I used to believe in Santa. How we tried our best to get a letter to the North Pole. Heh heh… You wanted to make sure that I kept believing in Santa so I wouldn't be bummed. You were such a good person… You even helped that family out just to make sure they had a good Christmas. And of course I just had to act like a brat. That was the first time I ever ripped the bear you gave me… After seeing you lose hope too, I just wanted to make YOU happy. Thinking about it now, you really rubbed off on me..." Max was silent for a moment before he began to sing.

" _No-boooody else but you._

 _It's just our luck, we're stuck to-geth-er._

 _No-boooody else but you…It's crazy enough to believe we'll come throoough._

 _No-boooody else but you._

 _We've turned into, a true blue du-oooo_

 _Haaard tiiiimes we've had a few._

 _Like we're thrown in the drink, like we're tossed out of town_

 _But when I start to sink, hey i'd rather go down_

 _With nobody else, but Y-O-U..."_ Tears poured down Max's face. "I'm sorry dad. I wish you could hear me right now… Merry Christmas. I love you soo much."

"Daaad!" Called an inaudible voice out in the distance. "Daaaaaaaad!" Max turned around to see Roxanne, who was holding the hand of a little boy, standing at the entrance of the cemetery. The little boy resembled Max when he was little. Max wiped the tears from his eyes and smiled at them both. Stooping to one knee, he placed a hand on the grave.

"I know you wouldn't want me to sit here beating myself up like this; especially when I have big responsibilities now. Just know one thing… I'll be sure to love my son just as much as you loved yours…" Max stood and walked off towards his son and girlfriend, snow still lightly falling around them. While they walked on their way to the car, Max pulled a familiar stuffed bear out of his coat pocket. He stared at it and smiled.

 _No matter where you are, you'll always be my dad… and I'll always love you..._


End file.
